Periyar - Revolutionary, Humanist, Iconoclast
(1879 - 1973)
Today is his 134th
birth anniversary. Periyar is an example of one man’s vision and dream that
could bring about a radical change in society. He was a revolutionary leader,
great humanist and iconoclast produced by Tamil Nadu. Periyar’s original
name was E.V. Ramasami Naicker. He dropped his surname "Naicker"
because it indicates caste, and he was very strongly opposed to the
caste-system.
His admirers bestowed the title "Periyar" on him.
(In Tamil the word "Periyar" means "the great one''.) He is also
referred to as “Thanthai Periyar” (“great leader” or “great father”).
Early Influences
In his early boyhood,
he was exposed to a rigid orthodox way of life strictly governed by traditional
prescriptions and scrupulously attached to conventional ritual-ridden
activities.
Periyar, recalling his
boyhood remarked that “the Hindu orthodoxy practiced by his ancestors and the
theological discourses perennially conducted in his house turned him to be an
agnostic.” Incidents of caste discriminatory and derogatory treatment
experienced by him as a schoolchild seem to have made a lasting impression to
his sense of self-respect so as to drive him to be a determined speaker for an
egalitarian society.
At the age of nineteen,
he married Nagammai who was only thirteen. In 1904, i.e., six years
after his marriage and at the age of 25, Periyar left his home without
informing anyone and went to Varanasi (Benares).
It seems there were increasing clashes between Periyar and
the orthodox ways of his family. Periyar regarded “thali” (a necklace worn by
married Hindu women in some parts of India) as a symbol of slavery.
Periyar's removal of the "thali" of his wife created a furor in his
family. Probably this led to Periyar’s unannounced exit.
He always pictured Varanasi as a holy place,
where anybody could go and stay. However, when he went there, he saw that only
the Brahmins were taken cared for while non-Brahmins were not allowed to stay
in the inn. Being a non-Brahmin E. V. R Periyar was not given any food, even
though at that time the temple was offering food for people coming from all
over the world. Because of his hunger, he had to fill his stomach from the
leftovers.
Freedom means Self Respect
The decades of 20s and 30s saw major upheavals in the
socio-political milieu of India
as a whole and particularly south India. Of all the
social reform movements in Tamil Nadu, the one movement which was non-religious
and secular in its approach to social problems and brought about the maximum
change was the Self-Respect Movement (Suya Mariyadai Iyakkam) started by
Periyar.
This movement was quite
strong and even militant in its efforts to achieve social equality. It was
described from the beginning as “dedicated to the goal of giving non-Brahmins a
sense of pride based on their Dravidian past.”
The political
philosophy of Periyar is human respectability with an emphasis on economic and
social equality, which must be primarily based on rational thinking.
Forget God, Remember Humans
Periyar was an atheist
and rationalist who questioned the hierarchies of domination and suppression
created and sanctioned by Hindu religion. Hence he was strongly anti-religion
and anti-caste. Periyar was uncompromisingly opposed to Brahminism.
Eradication of caste-system including untouchability was the most important aim
of the Self-Respect Movement. Periyar worked for a casteless society
based on the value of equality. He believed that this could be achieved only by
the abolition of Brahminism.
In his
"Manu - A Code of Injustice to
Non-Brahmins", Periyar has severely condemned Manu's code as expounded in
the Manu dharmashastra or the Manusmriti. According to him,
Manu's code is only a weapon in the hands of the "high-caste
Brahmins". It enables Brahmins to call themselves high and
superior, and to lead a comfortable life at the cost of others.
The
non-brahmins (Shudras), on the other hand, have been deprived of their
self-respect and decency, and have been reduced to the status of perpetual
slaves. Manu's code, as Periyar sees it, is an instrument for Brahmin dominance
and monopoly over the society.
Religion and social
issues are closely linked. Ritual impurity leading to untouchability means
socio-economic degradation, for lower caste and ritual purity leads to social
supremacy for the upper caste.
Champion of
Women’s Rights
Periyar was a champion of women's rights and strongly in favour of women’s equality. He saw
that oppression of women was deep rooted in our society. The orthodox people justified
their attitude towards women saying that they followed Manu dharma.
Periyar said, “Any code that advised men to treat their women folk worse than
animals is a barbarous code and can be respected only by barbarians.”
He questioned the whole concept of chastity as it was (and
continues to be) applied selectively to women only. He felt that character was
essential for both man as well as woman. Hence he said, speaking of chastity only with reference to women degraded not merely women
but men also.
In several Self-Respect Conferences, which he organized in
Tamil Nadu, Periyar advocated women’s equality with men, and equal property and
succession rights for women. Among other things, he encouraged and supported
inter-caste marriages and widow-remarriages.
Periyar popularized Self-Respect Marriages based on mutual
consent and rationalism that was conducted without any Brahmin priest or
religious ritual.
Periyar objected to
terms like “giving of a maid” and “given in marriage”. They are Sanskrit concepts
and come from the brahminical tradition of treating women as objects. He wanted
them to be substituted by Vazhakai Tunai, a word for marriage taken from
the Tirukkural, which means Life-Mate.
Such self-respect
marriages can be successfully undertaken in an atmosphere where the status of
women is on par with men. He believed that women’s liberation also depends upon
relieving them from the age-old traditions and other irrational chains of
bondage and exploitation.
According to Periyar, kindness, desire, love, lust,
friendship, attraction and distaste of sex, etc., are private feelings of human
beings. These should not be discussed, determined or imposed by any third
person. Every one must have the freedom to settle these issues based on his or
her taste, attitude and satisfaction. It is unnecessary and uncalled-for
anybody to interfere into the private affairs of others.
Periyar - a firm Marxist
Even today, most Periyarists address each other as
‘Thozhar’ without realizing its true meaning. ‘Thozhar’ means ‘Comrade’ and
conveys a sense of equality cutting across hierarchies and barriers of
religion, caste, gender etc.
Periyar visited the USSR and was greatly impressed by
the egalitarian society based on dialectical materialist principles that he saw
there. He envisioned a similar kind of classless and casteless society for the
whole of Dravida Nadu where people would free themselves from social, political
and economic inequalities and create a just and egalitarian social order.
“Where there is despair, Periyar instilled hope,
Where there was darkness, he shed light,
Where there was ignorance, he spread knowledge,
Where there was fear,
he gave courage.”
For more online resources on Periyar:
Images courtesy - Internet
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